Macbeth and Animal Farm Analysis - 880 Words

Explore the ways ambition is presented and developed in the texts Macbeth and Animal Farm. Macbeth and Animal farm have many common elements that can be paralleled between the two texts. One of the main ideas is the way the two main characters, Macbeth and Napoleon have an intense ambition and languish to have control over others which they take by force and their desperate attempts to contain it. William Shakespeare portrays Macbeth as a cold-blooded, power-hungry and ambitious tyrant, blinded by his burning desire to be authoritative, who will go to extreme measures to achieve his goals. On the contrary, George Orwell shows Napoleon as a manipulative character who hides his true intentions (much like Macbeth) from all those around him,†¦show more content†¦In Act 1 Scene 7 Shakespeare expresses Macbeth’s feelings and emotions through the use of a soliloquy. This is a technique he uses to show the confusion that Macbeth is facing due to his ambition to rule Scotland. In the beginning of the soliloquy Macbeth is questioning whether sacrilege is the answer t o his problems and his state of mind is unstable suggesting he does not want to commit a crime. Near the end of the soliloquy he uses nature imagery to show what he is doing is unnatural and going against the ‘Divine Right of King’ by personifying nature through stating that â€Å"The tears shall drown the wind.† This could be a reference to the tears that will be shed by those in the castle upon hearing of King Duncan’s death. The last lines of the soliloquy are important as Macbeth states: â€Å"I have no spur / To prick the sides of my intent, but only / Vaulting ambition which o’erleaps itself / And falls on th’other--† suggesting that he aware that the consequences of allowing his ambition to control his actions could backfire. This implies that Macbeth’s excessive ambition is like a horse that attempts to cross a hurdle that is too high and falls.† It is extremely convenient that Lady Macbeth enters at this time as t his suggests that she is the spur that will drive him on to achieve the power and status that he believes he rightlyShow MoreRelatedEssay about Notions of Power: Animal Farm and Macbeth1257 Words   |  6 Pagesabove and Shakespeare’s Macbeth and Orwell’s Animal Farm. In your essay ensure that you specifically refer to each of texts including quotes and analysis. â€Å"Political Power grows out of the Barrel of a Gun† The idea of power and especially political power has its many definitions, and is used, explored, and even exploited, featuring in all human experiences in the struggle for authority and dominance. The theme of power is widely explored in the two texts of Macbeth by Shakespeare, the famousRead MoreAmerican Literature11652 Words   |  47 Pagespoetry? Good questions! This web page provides a quick overview of poetry analysis. Please note that this handout discusses the basics of poetry; there is much more to know about it than there is room to discuss here. Laurence Perrine s book LITERATURE: STRUCTURE, SOUND, AND SENSE can provide more detailed information about poetry analysis. Until you can get a copy of the book, I hope this page helps you begin your poetry analysis work. What is poetry ? Poetry goes beyond the rhyming of words. The